Rotary Club earns cash for restoration project

Monday

Jan 28, 2013 at 11:45 AM

By Nancy Hastings

nancy.hastings@hillsdale.netHILLSDALE — Armed with smiles and trays and dressed in bright yellow T-shirts, the Hillsdale Rotary Club worked at a local restaurant Thursday night with the intent to raise money and awareness of the Sandy Beach Restoration Project.Organizer Mike Parney said the idea to work as servers, busboys, bartenders and even wash dishes, was an idea Olivia’s Chop House owner Wayne Babcock liked from the beginning.Babcock said he was glad to help out the club since “Rotary does a lot of good in the community.”A donation can was placed on the hostess desk and club members Bill and Janet Lee greeted guests at the door explaining the club’s fundraiser. Guest attendance was a little higher than on a normal Thursday night.“The club came to me to do this,” Babcock said. “I get hit up for money all the time, but this was different. They wanted to be a part of it instead of getting a hand out.”Eight members showed up for the first shift, meeting staff and filling in where needed. Working behind the bar was member Eric Macey who said he got the job since he is usually on the other side of the counter.“They thought since I sit on that side I should know enough to do this,” Macey said while pouring a draft beer.New member Michael Papesh said he was excited about participating in the club’s venture since he bussed tables while in college.“I’m doing the 5 to 7 p.m. shift and it should be fun,” he said. “I like how Rotary is part of the community and that’s one of the things that attracted me to Rotary.”Papesh joined the club in November after noticing all they’ve accomplished with the bike path and at Sandy Beach.“This is my first project to be involved in and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.Server Amy Teller, a restaurant employee, said the evening would be interesting and work a littler lighter, but having club members around would be a something they would all have fun with.While serving entrée platters to a table full of guests with another server, John Smith, Teller assured service would continue as smoothly as possible.Babcock reported the club earned $503.70, 15 percent of total sales for the day.“Once people got the initial idea of what was going on and got into it, it went well,” Babcock said. “It was a lot of fun for the staff and it broke up the routine. I definitely would do it again after seeing all the volunteers who came out to get involved.”Parney said the event turned out to be a “win-win for everybody,” not only earning funds for the project, but also bringing greater awareness to Rotary’s plans for Sandy Beach.

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